Top 10 spirit launches in February 2014

Innovation was at the core of new spirits launched in February 2014, which include everything from an Elvis coconut water-flavoured vodka to the world’s first “Japanese” gin.

Here are the top 10 spirit launches in February 2014

Also included on our round-up is the most expensive single malt ever released by Diageo, and an “extraordinary” 1969 vintage by The Glenrothes.

Meanwhile, Gordon’s also upped its stake in the flavoured gin market last month and Captain Morgan made its first foray into the white spirits category.

February also saw an array of interestingly kitsch and novel expressions released, such as a Bourbon celebrating the return of 80s TV series Dallas and two bottles of vodka which pay homage to Australia and Texas.

Click through the following pages to see our list of the top 10 spirit launches in February 2014.

Brora 40 Year Old

Last month, Diageo unveiled 160 bottles of Brora Year Old – which at £6,995 is its most expensive single malt ever released.

Drawn from what Diageo considers to be “the most brilliant of its highly-peated bottlings”, Brora has a natural cask strength of 59.1%.

Topped with a crystal stopper engraved with the number 40 and presented in a handcrafted wooden case, the expression is described as offering flavours of concentrated wood-smoke and ash with soothing honey, a hint of liquorice and toasted hazelnut.

The whisky was preserved after the Brora Distillery was mothballed in 1983.

For more information, click here.

Gordon’s Elderflower Gin

Gordon’s caused quite the stir when it released an elderflower-flavoured gin, following on from the much anticipated launch of its cucumber-flavored bottling.

Part of the British distiller’s flavoured collection, Gordon’s Elderflower is a blend of Original Gordon’s London Dry Gin with natural elderflower flavouring, and is also available in RTD gin and tonic cans.

Diageo claimed the new variant has been created to “capitalise on a particularly buoyant period for gin” and the “huge success” of flavoured spirits.

Bottled at 37.5% abv, the expression carries an RRP of £16.11, while RTD cans will retail for £1.95.

For more information, click here.

J.R.Ewing Bourbon

In celebration of the return of the hit 80s TV show Dallas, Warner Bros. enlisted a spirits company to bottle a new Bourbon called J.R. Ewing.

The production company commissioned the Southfork Bottling Company to bottle a four-year-old, 80 proof (40% abv) Kentucky Bourbon under the J.R. Ewing name.

The Bourbon, which features an image of the Southfork Ranch – home of the Ewing family, star characters in Dallas – etched on the bottle, is said to have a “classic” nose with a “surprisingly mild” taste profile with a lightly spicy, honey taste.

J.R. Ewing Bourbon will initially be available in 14 States in the South and Midwest, but will become a national brand within a few months and available internationally by the end of the year.

For more information, click here.

Japanese Gin

Billed as the “world’s first” Japanese gin, this bottling was created to mark the start of the cherry blossom season and features juniper alongside a range of Japanese botanicals including yuzu peel, shiso leaf, sansho pepper, sesame seeds and cucumber.

Owned by The Cambridge Distillery, Japanese Gin is created by the company’s master distiller Will Lowe, who vacuum distills each botanical at low temperatures to retain their delicate flavours.

Lowe described the expression as “London meets Tokyo in a gin.”

The expression is being launched through UK department store Selfridges, at an RRP of £59.99 for a 700ml bottle.

For more information, click here.

Cardhu Amber Rock

Last month, Diageo added a new no-age-statement single malt to its range of Speyside whiskies – Cardhu Amber Rock.

The name Cardhu Amber Rock refers to the Gaelic translation of the brand’s name, which means “black rock” and was chosen to highlight the expression’s “golden, jewel-like” colour.

The expression has been double matured in toasted American oak casks and follows the recent releases of Cardhu 15 Year Old and Cardhu 18 Year Old.

Bottled at 40% abv, Cardhu Amber Rock carries an RRP of £41.

For more information, click here.

Absolut Texas and Absolute Oz

In February Absolut unveiled its first bottle inspired by a US state – Absolut Texas, and a limited edition bottling dedicated to Australia – Absolut Oz.

Created in collaboration with San Antonio-based artist Cruz Ortiz, the expression features a design described as “a modern take on classic Texas iconography”, featuring a version of the Texas Star, a “cosmic caballero” cowboy boot, and an image of Absolut founder Lars Olsson Smith wearing a cowboy hat.

Absolut Texas – which carries an RRP of US$19.99 – is described as having a “warm and spicy character inspired by the flavours of south western cuisine”.

Absolut also unveiled Absolut Oz last month – a bottle created in partnership with Romeo and Juliet Australian director Baz Luhrmann. The new vodka is described as having a spiced orange flavour, which Luhrmann specifically chose to “transport” consumers to Australian beaches.

For more information about Absolut Texas, click here, and click here for more information about Absolut Oz.

The Glenrothes Extraordinary Cask 1969

The Glenrothes unveiled the latest addition to its Extraordinary Cask Collection in February – a 1969 vintage bottled in a hand-blown crystal container.

Priced £4,000, the vintage has bottled the contents of cask #11485, an American oak hogshead, by brand-owner Berry Bros & Rudd.

The company has released just 133 bottles of The Glenrothes Extraordinary Cask 1969, described as having notes of kirsch, pear drops and chocolate orange on the nose, and develops into citrus, liquorice and barley sugar on the palate.

The bottles are also presented in a hand-crafted leather case complete with oak plinth and book co-written by seven whisky writers.

For more information, click here.

Three Olives Vodka

Proximo Spirits launched a vodka to pay homage to rock legend Elvis Presley and his love of Hawaii – Three Olives Elvis Presley Coconut Water Vodka

The bottle was released in partnership with the Authentic Brands Group, which owns the intellectual property rights to the Elvis Presley name.

It combines traditional English wheat-based vodka with the flavour of coconut water and follows the release of a strawberry-flavoured Marilyn Monroe expression in March 2013.

Three Olives Elvis Presley Coconut Water Vodka has launched in the US at an RPP of US$21 per 750ml.

For more information, click here.

Captain Morgan White Rum

Joining Captain Morgan’s core spiced expression in February was Captain Morgan White Rum – the brand’s first foray into the white spirit category.

Widely seen as a bid by Diageo to challenge the dominance of Bacardi in the white rum sector, Captain Morgan White Rum is five times distilled and bottled at 40% abv.

It is described as as clean, slightly sweet and creamy with fruit flavours and hints of green apple.

Captain Morgan White Rum is available throughout the US at an RRP of US$15.99 for a 750ml bottle.

For more information, click here.

Crossbill Gin

Crossbill Gin – a gin made of only two botanicals – is the “world’s first” 100% Scottish gin.

The small-batch gin features just Scottish juniper and wild rosehip as its botanicals – a limited number which aims to preserve Scotland’s threatened juniper population.

Producer Jonathan Engels, the man behind Pincer Botanical Vodka, has been working with the UK’s Forestry Commission and Plantlife to re-establish a plentiful juniper supply.

Just 200 bottles are available from specialist retailers at an RRP of £38.

For more information, click here.